Rob Gronkowski takes NFL officials to task over alleged Chiefs favoritism

Posted by author January 31, 2025 NFL

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Surely, referees in the National Football League don’t actually favor the Kansas City Chiefs, do they?

Well, Rob Gronkowski has the mind of the NFL fan and thinks that something is up.

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The Chiefs are in their third consecutive Super Bowl, and it’s fair to say they got some benefit from the officiating in the AFC title game against the Buffalo Bills.

Rob Gronkowski (Jim Rogash/Getty Images/File)

A pivotal 4th-and-1 rush by Bills quarterback Josh Allen was ruled short (it could be argued the Bills crossed the marker on third down). The Chiefs responded by scoring a touchdown on the next drive. And while the Bills did tie it up, the field was clearly tilted afterward.

This version of the Chiefs is being talked about like Gronk’s New England Patriots used to be talked about: favoritism from the refs but still difficult to beat. Gronk joked in a recent interview with Fox News Digital that even his quarterback Tom Brady got the favor of the whistle.

“It was Tom, but he deserved it at the time. He was an 18-year vet, and he took his punishment as a young buck during his first eight years in the league. Oh my lord, he used to get lit up. It was understandable he got calls,” Gronk said.

And perhaps the Chiefs have gotten that same benefit, Gronkowski added, saying the refs are “definitely … more lenient” toward the Chiefs.

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“It’s been shown throughout the regular season and extending into the playoffs,” Gronk quipped.

He later added, “I just feel like there’s something, like, maybe give them an extra call or two. Don’t make it too obvious, but make it a little obvious.”

Referee Carl Cheffers speaks to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during a break in the third quarter against the Houston Texans on Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)

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Gronkowski will get to see firsthand how much the refs actually favor the Chiefs, if at all, as he’ll be in New Orleans on behalf of Bounty to clean up the mess that comes with dirty eating during Super Bowl Sunday.

“You can’t have football without wings, there’s no doubt about that. But you can’t have wings without Bounty,” Gronk said ahead of his trip to Bourbon Street, where there will be food aplenty.

His wingman, Saints legend Drew Brees, will try to show him the best wings in town, but he doesn’t think anything will beat his hometown Buffalo wings, similar to the Chiefs.

Gronkowski added that even though the Chiefs may have some help from the zebras, it’s “no excuse” for the Bills or anyone to fall short when they have their chances.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes talks to referee Clete Blakeman prior to the AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)

“You have opportunities to beat them, you got to overcome all situations, and the Buffalo Bills need to make championship plays in championship moments, and they didn’t come through. You got to make plays in order to beat the Chiefs, and you can’t blame it on the refs,” Gronk continued.

“It doesn’t matter, you still got to beat the Chiefs, and you still got to come through with big plays at the end of the game in order to beat them, and no team has done that yet.”